Welcome to
Toolkits at the ready, we’re taking a look at amazing machines!
Have you got a bicycle, scooter or skateboard? Try out some fun games to play on them and bake up some energy boost bars to take with you on your wheeled adventures.
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Plus, make a balancing mobile and a pulley ride for your teddies!
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ara
Meet the Hoopla gang!
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Editor-in-Chief: Jenny Inglis
Editor: Tara Pardo
Illustrator: Clive Goodyer
Designer: Rachael Fisher
Creative consultant: Tammy Osborne
Tanj
Whirl
GOOD NEWS
Dinosaur footprints, a boost for endangered cats and a red Moon!
ART PROJECT
Craft a brilliant balancing mobile to hang up in your room.
OUTDOORS
Coats and helmets on, let’s skate, scoot and cycle!
FOOD
Keep your energy levels up with these banana and oat bars.
THINK ABOUT... EFFORT!
Putting in effort can be hard work, but also rewarding and fun!
AWESOME ANIMALS
Meet clever ravens, who can make tools and recognise people!
SNAP HAPPY & COLOURING
See the world’s biggest machine and colour in a fun picture.
DISCOVERY
Find out about amazing machines and make a pulley!
PUZZLES & RIDDLES
Work out the answers to these machine-themed puzzles!
YOUR JOURNAL
Write and draw about your thoughts and feelings.
STORY
Will Edith’s invention work in time for the town competition?
LETTERS & COMPETITION
Share what you’ve been up to and you could win a prize.
QUIZ
Solve this picture quiz about awesome machines!
Find all the answers to our quizzes, puzzles and riddles.
Good NEWS
DINOSAUR HIGHWAY
Hundreds of dinosaur footprints have been uncovered in Oxfordshire.
The trackways were made 166 million years ago by two types of dinosaurs, thought to be a massive plant-eating sauropod called Cetiosaurus and the 9-metre-long meat-eating Megalosaurus.
How the dinosaurs might have looked
“These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited,” said Professor Kirsty Edgar from the University of Birmingham.
Safer surfing
Lights help keep surfers safe.
New research has shown that attaching lights to the bottom of surfboards helps to keep great white sharks away. Sometimes the sharks mistake surfboards for their seal prey, so they come for a closer look and can even attack. The Australian researchers found that sharks weren’t interested in surfboards and kayaks with LED lights on the bottom, and the brighter the light, the better they worked!
Underground life
Scientists are studying life
found
deep inside rocky caves.
These long caves inside the volcanic islands of Hawaii were once filled with rivers of molten
lava. Even though no sunlight reaches the caves, scientists have found life in the form of microbes. There are lava tubes on Mars, too, so the scientists are studying the microbes to help them work out whether similar life could exist on Mars and other planets.
© Richard Butler
© Emma Nicholls
Good NEWS For the pl net LUNAR ECLIPSE
The
Moon
is going to turn red!
But don’t worry, it will only look red for a short time, because of a total lunar eclipse. That’s when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon all line up and the Earth casts a shadow that covers the entire Moon. The Moon turns a deep red because it gets a small amount of light that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere. You will have to get up very early to see the eclipse. It happens on March 14th from about 4 am to 6:20 am, when the Moon dips below the horizon.
From S mBentley
@s mbentley
Cat comeback Firefighting herd
1,200 new employees have been hired in Colorado, USA, who specialise in stopping fires. Who are these employees? Goats! The goats eat the dry, scrubby bushes where fires can easily start and spread. They’ve been deployed after an enormous 580-acre quarry fire, which came within a mile of the owner’s headquarters, to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again. The steep terrain is hard for humans to access, so removing the plants by hand can be
How does the Moon cut his hair? Eclipse it! Ha Ha! difficult and expensive. The goats get a good meal, and reduce the chance of fire at the same time. It’s a win-win!
The Iberian lynx, a large cat from Spain and Portugal, was in danger of extinction in the early 2000s, with fewer than 100 in the wild. Thanks to habitat restoration, the
reintroduction of rabbits (their main food source) and breeding programmes, things have turned around. Support from scientists, conservationists and governments helped the Iberian lynx population grow sixteenfold, to over 1,600 individuals, in just two decades. This shows that even critically endangered species can quickly recover with dedicated efforts!
Get cre tive!
mobile Balancing
• A wire coat hanger
• String
• Ruler or tape measure
• Scissors
• Sticky tape
• Another thin, straight object about 25-30 cm long, such as a reusable straw or kitchen skewer
Objects you could hang from your mobile:
• Small animal toys or keyrings
• Pens, rubbers or safety scissors
• Shells
• Dried pasta pieces
1
You will need Prep re the pieces
Make a fun
• Cut a piece of string about 40-50 cm long. Tie one end of the string to the wire hook of the coat hanger.
• Cut some more lengths of string, two 20 cm, one 30 cm and one 40 cm.
• Tie them to the hanger and straw or skewer as shown.
Gravity pulls the objects downwards. When the pull on each object balances the others, the hanger is level.
2
Put
it ll together
• Tie or tape the objects to the loose ends of the threads.
• Hang your mobile on a door handle while you check everything is balanced. The hanger and the straw/skewer should be horizontal. If they’re not, slide the strings sideways along them until they are level.
• You may like to add more threads and objects to your mobile.
• When it’s ready, ask an adult to hang it up somewhere high.
Alexander, who lived from 1898 to 1976, trained as an engineer. In the 1930s, he created motor-driven moving sculptures. Later on, he made hanging mobile sculptures that moved in the wind.
They were often made of wire and found objects.
He also made giant abstract sculptures.
Let’s roll! Great outdoors
Get out and explore! Visit your favourite playground, skate park, woodland trail or picnic spot.
It’s totally free and a great way to spend time with family and friends.
It makes you feel great! It gives you a thrill that puts a huge smile on your face – especially when you reach the top of a hill and get to ride back down again!
It can even boost your confidence and reduce anxiety
STAY SAFE
• Always have your adult around.
It’s great fun to scoot, skate and cycle – whatever the weather! And there are loads more reasons to love these marvellous moving machines...
• Always wear a helmet. Elbow and knee pads are a good idea too, and wear sensible shoes, such as trainers.
• Make sure your bike is in good condition; the brakes should work well and the tyres should be pumped up.
• Start on paved skate parks, bike paths or wide, smooth trails and focus on the journey, not the destination. There’s no rush!
bike route and mountain bike trail, visit sustrans.org.uk
Cycling or scooting is a brilliant way to get to school . It’s excellent exercise and makes you feel more alert and ready to learn. It’s also kinder to the planet by reducing the pollution caused by car or bus journeys.
Ask a grown-up to send a photo of you and your wheels to hello@hooplamag.com and you might see it in a future magazine!
Take your scooter, skates, skateboard or bicycle, and some friends, to a wide-open space like a park and play these games.
1
Let’s r ce
Use chalk to mark a start and finish line and race there and back, or race against the clock!
2
Obst cle course
Get creative and invent a course. You could include a wiggly chalk line to follow and bean bags to circle or zig-zag through. Time how fast you can complete the course.
3
Red light, green light
people with different riding abilities to ride together. The world’s longest tandem bike long! It had one rider pedalling at the front the back.
For this game, you’ll need at least two players and a ‘caller’. Mark a start and finish line and then, when the caller says ‘green light’, start rolling. When they say ‘red light’, you have to stop. If they see you still rolling after shouting ‘red light’ then you’re out. Keep going until the first rider reaches the finish line to be the winner.
ENERGY BOOST BARS NOM
NOM!
• 2 bananas
• 7 tablespoons of peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
• 4 tablespoons of coconut oil (plus a little extra for greasing the baking tray)
• 6 chopped dried apricots
• 2 tablespoons of flaked almonds
• 300 g whole rolled oats
• 4 tablespoons of honey
1
You will need ADULT HELP NEEDED !
This yummy snack is perfect to help you cycle, scoot and play!
2
Ask an adult to preheat the oven to 180 °C. Mash the bananas with a fork and add them to a saucepan with the peanut butter and coconut oil.
Warm gently on a low heat, then add the chopped apricots and flaked almonds. Add the oats and honey, mix well and remove from the heat.
Ask a grown-up to take a photo of you with your energy bars and send it to us at hello@hooplamag.com and you might see it in the next Hoopla!
Ask an adult to put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until it starts to brown on top. When it has cooled down but is still slightly warm, cut it into bars or squares.
Crossword
Fit the list of ingredients in the grid in just the right way to solve the puzzle.
Grease a baking tray with the extra coconut oil. Pour in your mixture and spread it out evenly. Press it down with the back of a spoon. Check your answer on page 34.
Food gives you energy to help you run, play, grow and learn! Bananas are excellent for boosting energy because they contain natural sugars and carbohydrates also packed with vitamins and minerals like potassium, which is good for your muscles and your heart. The energy in the oats is released more slowly, so you can keep playing for longer.
AboutThink
We also say things like:
Effort
Scientists describe effort as ‘a force that is needed to do work’, like moving something. But it can mean more than forcing something to move. Even if this mouse can’t move the elephant, it could still put a LOT of effort into trying!
Put some effort in!
You can have an A for effort! You made that look so easy, it seemed effortless!
I’ll make every effort to help you.
There is more than one idea about what effort means and it can mean different things to different people.
Do simple things always take little effort and difficult things take a huge effort?
What do you do in your everyday life that takes effort and what doesn’t take effort?
Draw a line from the examples to where you would place them on the effort line.
Running around
Drawing a picture Listening to someone Blinking
No effort
Helping someone Learning something new Making a choice
Watching TV
Lots of effort
Is it the same for everyone? For example, if we are learning to ride a bike, some people will be able to master it very quickly and for other people it will take longer. Does the person that finds it easy put less effort in?
Or is it just different for different people, depending on what you are good at, how old you are and what experiences you have had before? Perhaps the person who finds something easy, or effortless, has to put much more effort into something else.
What do you put a lot of effort into in your life?
Draw or write your idea here.
If I keep trying, I think I can get to the top... We can’t all be the best at everything. Is the effort we put in more important than the end result?
I think…
© George Rudy / Shutterstock.com
How do we make effort?
Effort seems to involve ingredients that combine together – just like when we use eggs, flour, butter and sugar to make a cake.
Here are some possible ingredients when something takes effort.
Hard work Trying
Your own idea
An achievement or outcome
Energy
Which of these ideas is most important for you?
Would you rather eat a piece of homemade cake or a slice of cake bought in a café?
It might seem a silly question, but it is helpful because making and eating cake takes effort!
What effort do you have to put in when… making your own cake? buying a piece of cake in a café?
There is effort with both. With a homemade cake, you have to go to the effort of buying the ingredients and baking the cake. The café visit also takes effort because you have to travel there, order and pay for the cake.
The feelings you get when you put effort and time into making something are usually positive and make you feel good. Having a piece of cake in a café may also make you feel happy in a different way – it may feel like a treat!
Circle how you feel when you put effort into something.
HAPPY RELAXED HOPEFUL
EXCITED PROUD Tired
Confident SAD WORRIED
CHALLENGED Energised ENTHUSIASTIC
Sometimes it can be hard to put effort into something if it doesn’t come easily. Other times, you can feel excited to put in the effort, because it’s fun or because you know you will have achieved something.
Let’s look back…
What is the importance of making an effort?
If we understand that putting in effort can be hard work as well as rewarding, then that may make us feel happier and motivated to try even harder for ourselves and others!
Imagine if we didn’t put effort into anything –where would we be then?!
Sometimes we put effort in because we know it’s the right thing to do or because we have to. Other times, we put in effort because it’s fun and exciting, like playing a sport or drawing a nice picture. Little daily efforts, like doing homework, may in the future lead to things that you want to do. So, the little efforts all added together make a BIG difference and are worthwhile.
Can you think of something you’d like to put more effort into in future?
ANIMALS Awesome
Clever
Super smart!
Despite only weighing around 1 kg, ravens are one of the cleverest animals on the planet. They have similar levels of brain power to the great apes, like gorillas and chimpanzees. It’s thought that ravens have similar problem-solving skills to those of seven-year-old children – so they may even be as clever as you!
Cool tools
Like apes (including us) and some other animals, ravens can use tools, such as sticks. They even make tools, fashioning hooks out of twigs to help them get food out of crevices in rocks.
What helps ravens stick together?
Vel-crow!
Making plans
As well as solving puzzles, ravens can plan for the future. In an experiment, the birds chose a token over a food treat if they knew the token would give them more food later on. Most animals wouldn’t be able to resist and would snap up
Mega memories
Ravens have excellent memories. Researchers have found they can remember how different people have treated them and hold grudges against those they didn’t like!
Find two identical ravens. Circle them and then check your answer on page 34. Where’s the pair?
Photo
SNAP HAPPY Mega machine
This is part of the biggest machine on Earth! The Large Hadron Collider is a 27-km ring built 100 m underground. It uses electric fields and strong magnets to smash tiny particles together at high speeds. These experiments help us learn more about what the universe is made of.
Pens, pencils or crayons at the ready! Colour in this picture of machines hard at work.
It’s World Book Day!™ on March 6th!
Cut out this token and swap it for a book at your local bookseller or supermarket.
Discovery DEN
Machines make it easy!
Hard work takes effort! Machines are things that help us do a job more easily with less effort.
1
Most machines in the world are built by combining just six simple machines in different ways.
Lever
A lever is made up of a rod and a point that it rests on, called a fulcrum When you push down on one end, you can lift a heavy weight (called the load) on the other end. The closer the fulcrum is to the load, the less effort is needed to lift it. A see-saw is a lever!
By putting these simple machines together you can make all sorts of complex machines.
2
Ramp
This machine, also known as an inclined plane, is a very simple way of lifting a heavy object. Imagine trying to lift a piano into a van – it would be almost impossible to lift it straight up, but it’s much easier to push it up a ramp.
The chain and gears are a kind of pulley system
3
Wheel and axle
Wheels and axles help us move loads more easily. When the wheel is fixed to the axle, they both spin at the same time. The larger wheel travels a bigger distance than the axle. It takes a small effort to turn the big wheel, and this effort is multiplied into a greater force by the axle. A doorknob is a good example of how rotating a bigger wheel can help us turn a small axle more easily.
Brake levers
Wheel and axle – the pedals are the wheel because they turn in a big circle
A car’s wheels and axles work the other way around. The greater force from the axle turns the wheels to increase the distance covered by each turn.
The largest monster truck ever built was called Bigfoot 5. Its tyres are each three metres tall, one and a half times the height of a door!
4
Wedge
A wedge is thick on one end and thin or sharp on the other. It can be attached to a handle to make it easier to use. Examples are knives for cutting and axes for splitting wood. The longer and sharper a wedge, the more work it does
Wheel and axel
Boats are wedge-shaped at the front to help them cut through the waves.
What kind of music do crane operators like?
Heavy metal!!
Terrific teasers!
Work out the answers and then check them on page 34.
Can you make six words using the letters contained in the wheel? Use these spaces to write in.
The letters can be used once each to make one seven-letter word. What is it? (CLUE – think of a mode of transport popular with kids!)
Machine search
Find the names of the six simple machines in the grid.
1 2 3
The words might be written forwards, backwards, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
Seesaw balance!
What shape would you have to add to the right side of seesaw 3 to make it balance? Draw the correct shape.
Riddles!
1) A truck was carrying a huge load of rocks. Suddenly the rocks began to fall out. A lot of people saw but no one rushed to tell the driver. Why not?
Here’s a tip: In picture 1 you can see that a square weighs the same as two circles and one triangle, and in picture two you can see that one triangle weighs the same as two circles. 2 3 1 Did you know... a meowing machine was invented in Japan in 1963 to scare away rodents!
Hey, that’s my job!
2) It goes up and at the same time goes down. If you bring a friend, then the fun won’t end. What is it?
3) I have water inside because your clothes keep me busy. I spin and spin and yet I’m never dizzy! What am I?
Learn the lingo!
Skateboarding tricks have some funny names. Most of these are real but two are made-up! Tick the two you think are NOT real tricks. Airwalk Bumbershoot Darkslide Goofy-foot Kickflip Wabbit
Nose pick Pop shove-it
BEING me
My mood journal
The date is
This is something I have tried hard at recently…
Write about it or draw a picture!
I’m putting lots of effort into learning to play the guitar!
Something I don’t find easy is...
I would like to get better at...
Something I’m really good at is...
I’d like to invent a machine that could...
I’m great at balancing a ball on my head!
EDITH The Inventor
By Helly Douglas
Edith was an inventor – the best inventor in town. Well, almost. Most of her inventions still needed some work!
Edith’s amazing self-closing cat flap was brilliant – if only it hadn’t shut just when the cat was halfway through! And Edith’s whistle for calling her dog was wonderful. It was just a shame that everyone else’s dogs came running too when she blew it.
When Edith heard there was a competition to invent a brand-new machine, she had to enter. Her idol, the famous inventor Jenny Rocket, was going to be the judge!
Edith plotted and planned and, every day after school, she rushed home to work on her incredible invention. At last it was finished – just in time for the competition.
Edith stood back to admire her machine. It was a masterpiece – a giant, light-up music box! She was sure it would win first prize. Everyone would certainly gasp when the lights sparked up and the music began to play.
Edith grabbed the handle and slowly turned it. Nothing happened. The machine needed more power. Edith turned the handle faster, but no matter how quickly she went, she couldn’t get more than a flicker from the lights. Exhausted, Edith slumped to the ground. There was no way this would win and she had run out of time to fix it.
That night, Edith went to the town hall and set up her music machine
with a heavy heart. The other children were excited. They couldn’t wait to show the judge their designs. Edith felt like a total failure. Maybe she wasn’t an inventor after all.
Jenny Rocket burst through the doors on her bike and rode around the hall, waving. Everyone applauded. She leant her bike against the wall and strode around the room to see the inventions on display.
Edith gulped as she came over.
“Can you tell me about your wonderful machine?” she asked.
“It’s a music machine that lights up,” Edith muttered.
Jenny Rocket clapped delightedly. “What a fantastic idea! Show me how it works.”
Edith furiously turned the handle faster than she’d ever managed before. Horribly slow music started to whine and the lights flickered on and off.
Someone nearby laughed.
Defeated and out of breath, Edith dropped the handle. Her cheeks were bright red.
Jenny Rocket smiled. “Don’t worry,” she said. “All my inventions went wrong when I was younger.
You mustn’t give up.”
Edith hid behind her machine as the judge moved on. She couldn’t wait for the competition to end.
The judging had almost finished when suddenly the lights went out, plunging the hall into darkness.
No one could get the lights to work and they couldn’t carry on in the dark. The competition was going to be cancelled, and all the children felt very disappointed.
Edith thought for a moment. If only she was stronger, she could have turned the handle of her machine faster and lit up the room.
In the gloomy dark, Edith could just see Jenny Rocket climbing
onto her bike. The light from her helmet lit up the spokes of her wheels. It gave Edith an idea.
“Don’t go!” she shouted, and ran across the hall. “I know how to light up the room!”
Edith carefully connected Jenny Rocket’s bike to her machine. She then jumped onto the bike and started pedalling furiously.
With a groan, the machine flickered on and music began to play. As Edith pedalled faster, the lights shone brighter and brighter. Everyone cheered as light and music from the machine filled the room.
Edith kept cycling as Jenny Rocket finished her judging. Around her, children started to dance to the music. The competition was turning into a dance party!
Jenny Rocket stepped up to the stage and cleared her throat. The hall fell silent. “The best inventions solve a problem. Tonight, we had a problem and one person saved the day. The winner is… Edith!”
The hall erupted with cheers. Everyone started dancing around Edith and her wonderful music machine. She had done it. She really was the best inventor in town!
Hi, I’m Tanj! Write to me or send me a photo of your artwork, craft or activity to hello@hooplamag.com and it might appear on this page next monthplus, you might win a prize!
1
Put in some effort and you’ll find the answers! Check your answers on page 34.
Why will the Moon turn red on March 14th?
2
4
a) There will be a lunar eclipse
b) It’s going rusty
c) There will be a big dust storm
Answer:
What is the name of the biggest ever monster truck?
a) Big Betty 1
b) Bigwheel 2
c) Bigfoot 5
Answer:
3
Which of these is a type of bird in the corvid family?
a) A ravioli
b) A ravine
c) A raven
Answer:
5 What sort of machine
a) A lever
b) A pulley
c) A screw
Answer:
What do you call a bicycle made for two?
a) A bi-bicycle
b) A tandem bicycle
c) A pal-cycle
Answer:
6 What does the Large Hadron Collider do?
a) It makes rings
b) It smashes particles together
c) It’s a bumper car ride
Answer:
Answers
Page 7 Perfect pieces
These are the missing pieces of the squares.
Page 22 Lift the load
The box weighing 1 tonne can be added because there are already 14 tonnes in the load and the maximum allowed is 15 tonnes.
Page 24 Word wheel
Page 25 Riddles
1) Because the truck was a dumper truck and was tipping out its load.
2) A seesaw.
3) A washing machine.
Page 11 Crossword conundrum!
The seven-letter word is SCOOTER. More than 100 words can be made from the letters but here are some you might have found: core, cost, escort, root, roost, roots, rose, rots, sector, scoot, score, soot, sore, sort, store, toes, tore, torso.
Page 24 Machine search
Page 25 Learn the lingo
The two that aren’t real skateboarding tricks are bumbershoot, which is another name for an umbrella, and wabbit, which means tired or exhausted!
Page 33 Quiz
1) a – The Moon will look red on March 14th because there will be a lunar eclipse.
2) c – The biggest ever monster truck is called Bigfoot 5.
3) b – A bicycle made for two is called a tandem.
Page 17 Where’s the pair?
These are the matching ravens.
Page 25 Seesaw balance
You would need to add a circle to make seesaw 3 balance because the square weighs the same as a triangle plus two circles (seesaw 1) and a triangle weighs the same as two circles (seesaw 2), which means a square must weigh the same as four circles.
4) c – A raven is a type of corvid.
5) a – A seesaw is an example of a lever.
6) b – The Large Hadron Collider smashes particles together.
Coming in next month’s PLAY PIRATE GAMES!
Dive into the deep!
EXPERIMENT WITH A PAPER BOAT
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Jackie Chan, movie star, director, writer, martial artist and stuntman
© Firdaus Latif, via Wikimedia Commons